Often times, users on yelp will be looking for a certain food item such as ‘Italian ice cream’ or ‘gelato’ rather than just ‘ice cream’. Take for instance, the search I performed below.

By entering in the product I was after, Yelp pulled up the closest businesses with the best matches to my search. By using the keyword ‘Italian’ I was able to narrow the search. These searches can be refined by Inbound Marketing Firm.

Businesses can increase their keywords in their reviews, by obtaining or requesting customers to write a specific review using those keywords. In this case, “Italian ice cream’ and ‘gelato’ are the keywords that most customers will search for. Businesses that have high keyword density in their Yelp listing will see less competition for the listing and climb higher in rankings. For help with your sites content visit seattle web design.

2. Ask for Reviews

Feel free to ask your customers to write a review of your company on Yelp. Make a habit of it, as reviews are a vital part of your company’s ranking. Many of your customers may be active Yelp users, and some might even be Elite Yelp reviewers. Elite Yelp reviews can actually make or break a small company, as their reviews have a large impact on rankings.

If your Elite reviewer loved your product, be prepared for a dramatic increase for your business. If, however, they found you lacking, ready yourself for a serious spin downward. If you’re uncomfortable asking, create a sign next to the door on the way out asking customers to review you on Yelp.

3. DO NOT Bribe for Reviews

While it is OK to ask for reviews, do not bribe. Yelpers will often report companies who try bribery, and this can lead to your company taking a huge penalty. Yelp will flag your business for attempts to bribe reviewers.

Yelpers do not like bribes. Be prepared for a significant decrease in business. This negative marking on your profile will remain there for up to 90 days before it is removed. Don’t try to bribe; it’s not worth it.

4. Unfiltered Good Reviews

Yelp pays more attention to users whose profiles are complete, and who have posted a great deal of content. Reviews from less active Yelp users are often filtered off your profile, and some of them are ones that you want to keep on your profile. Go ahead and check your filtered reviews to see if you can add any to your review listings.

5. Interact with Good Reviewers

Good reviews are the lifeblood of Yelp listings. Interact with your friendly Yelpers by responding to their comments, replying to their reviews, and friending them on Yelp. Not only will this establish good rapport, but it also increases your Yelp rankings, as Yelp encourages interactions between reviewers and businesses.

6. Contact Negative Reviewers

If you have a review that reflects poorly on your company, try to make amends. You can’t remove your bad reviews, but the reviewers who post them can. Offer to bring the disgruntled reviewer into your business and give them better service, or replace any damaged or faulty products. Try to give them a fantastic second experience at your company, and you’ll often see them change their mind about the initial review.

Yelp can be a fantastic tool to incorporate into the internet marketing strategy for your company. Increasing business-customer interactions will encourage higher rankings and greater brand awareness.

In addition, remembering that every person that comes through your door may be giving you a Yelp review will help you and your staff ensure that each customer has a great experience which they’ll want to share with the rest of the Yelp world. Remember, you are in control of your Yelp!